Among all professional groups, one of the most resistant to remote work is the legal profession. This attitude has forced law firms of all sizes to develop new policies on how many days their attorneys and staff must be in their offices and how to plan for their future office space needs.

CBRE recently surveyed its law firm clients and practice group content subscribers to find out how they are addressing these challenges. In all, 65 law firms from across the country participated, including 30 ranked among the nation's largest and most profitable by Am Law 100 and 200, as well as 35 smaller firms, some with only one office. Almost one-third of the largest firms had over 500 attorneys, while 22% had fewer than 50. Multinational firms represented 28% of the total.

Only 11% of all law firms did not support hybrid work now or in the future. Most concede that hybrid work is a permanent phenomenon. Nevertheless, 83% of the biggest law firms and 73% of the smaller ones said they would prefer more in-office working, though only one-third have a universal, firm-wide approach.